That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime: Tensei shitara Slime datta Ken

[DarthEnderX]

This wasn't a defensive measure, and no, it's not just to murder soldiers who killed your friends in an ongoing war, these soldiers carried out orders.

Ah yes, that old chestnut. "It's okay to commit atrocities as long as you were just following orders."

We all know what international law thinks of that particular excuse.

There was no strategic need for this, it was all his selfish desire to bring back his friends.

How is resurrecting a bunch of OTHER people, who were unjustly murdered, selfish?

@Darth - Most of the soldiers he killed aren't the ones guilty of killing his friends and people.

But they were literally on their way to DO that. And they can't even claim ignorance. It was the clearly stated objective of their army that they were going to righteously massacre an entire nation of people.

It is an army who's public goal was racial genocide. They are straight up as guilty as any Nazi soldier would be.

[shinta|hikari]

But if the soldiers decide to not do it, they will be killed for not following orders. Even if they wanted to commit genocide, a moral person wouldn't just pre-emptively (or even retaliatorily) murder them all. There are other methods available to someone as powerful as Rimuru, such as convincing them to stop through a show of power (blow up a mountain) or assassinating their leaders to minimize loss of life.

The key thing here is Rimuru didn't care about doing the right and moral thing. He just wanted to resurrect his people (which I cannot fault him for). Sacrificing thousands of lives (that can be redeemed, people change) to revive a few of his friends and comrades is NOT moral and not something a just person would or should do. It is definitely understandable, but it is not morally justifiable in most human paradigms.

[DarthEnderX]

But if the soldiers decide to not do it, they will be killed for not following orders.

Not if enough of them refused. Evil only has that power because enough people agree to go along with it.

The key thing here is Rimuru didn't care about doing the right and moral thing. He just wanted to resurrect his people (which I cannot fault him for).

I disagree. The people Rimuru wanted to resurrect were innocent. The people he wanted to sacrifice were racist murderers.

Again, it comes down to a trolley problem. Racist murderers' lives are not worth the same as innocents.

[MFauli]

Cute and friendly... like Kyubey?

Kyuubei is creepy from the start, come on lol

But yeah, Rimuru is a Kyuubei in the making.

[Kraco]

But if the soldiers decide to not do it, they will be killed for not following orders. Even if they wanted to commit genocide, a moral person wouldn't just pre-emptively (or even retaliatorily) murder them all. There are other methods available to someone as powerful as Rimuru, such as convincing them to stop through a show of power (blow up a mountain) or assassinating their leaders to minimize loss of life.

The key thing here is Rimuru didn't care about doing the right and moral thing. He just wanted to resurrect his people (which I cannot fault him for). Sacrificing thousands of lives (that can be redeemed, people change) to revive a few of his friends and comrades is NOT moral and not something a just person would or should do. It is definitely understandable, but it is not morally justifiable in most human paradigms.

This isn't about avoiding a fight at a hot dog stand, after a football game. Those mediaval countries are like today's Russia: the only language they understand is (military) power. If Rimuru had somehow (more or less) peacefully managed to convince them to leave, by a show of power or whatever, they might have left, but they would have also deemed Rimuru too weak-willed to actually use that power in practice against them. So, they would collect a coalition, to return with more armies, trusting that Rimuru would again hesitate long enough for the new, stronger armies to secure a victory against Jura.

Now the whole world knows that anyone planning to invade the Jura forest will face a catastrophe. Maybe they will believe it's Veldora, but since they also know Veldora is Rimuru's buddy, it doesn't really matter. They will, nonetheless, know from what happened to Falmuth's army that attacking Jura directly is suicidal, with absolutely no ambiguity about it.

Like I said, this isn't about being a hero or whatever. It's about being the leader of a nation in a dangerous world.

[MFauli]

Since Rimuru desires a peaceful coexistence with Falmuth, he decided to keep his military genius a secret and gave the credit to Veldora. That way the people of Falmuth would fear him less.

Rimuru wants peace and a good cooexistence with others ... and you think killing 100k unassuming soldiers without mercy will help his cause? Speaking under real world-assumptions, ofc, because this anime has long decided that Rimuru is a good guy no matter what crimes he commits.

[MFauli]

Not if enough of them refused. Evil only has that power because enough people agree to go along with it.

Yeah, in an ideal, utopian world that'd be the case. In such world, however, war wouldn't exist to begin with. You're creating a fantasy to justify your bloodlust.

I disagree. The people Rimuru wanted to resurrect were innocent. The people he wanted to sacrifice were racist murderers.

Again, it comes down to a trolley problem. Racist murderers' lives are not worth the same as innocents.

A soldier going out there to kill monsters is not a "racist murderer". Even if we assume that most of these soldiers were bad (it's entirely unrealistic to assume ALL of them were bad), that doesn't justify killing them without mercy, because, as shinta said, people can change. And Rimuru of all had the power to force a change. He chose not to because resurrecting his friends was more important to him. Which is understandable on a personal level. But it's not a moral choice.

Here's a thought experiment: Would the 100k soldiers still be alive, at least some, had Rimuru not had the option to resurrect his friends? The answer to that tells you everything about Rimuru's morals.

[DarthEnderX]

Yeah, in an ideal, utopian world that'd be the case. In such world, however, war wouldn't exist to begin with. You're creating a fantasy to justify your bloodlust.

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." is hardly a concept I created.

A soldier going out there to kill monsters is not a "racist murderer". Even if we assume that most of these soldiers were bad (it's entirely unrealistic to assume ALL of them were bad), that doesn't justify killing them without mercy, because, as shinta said, people can change. And Rimuru of all had the power to force a change. He chose not to because resurrecting his friends was more important to him. Which is understandable on a personal level. But it's not a moral choice.

This is the part I don't get.

Why is your position on this exact same issue the 180° opposite when it comes to Eren. Who commits a vastly greater act of mass murder, for an even less justified reason. Eren also possessed all of the power and everyone he killed COULD have changed. And yet you fully supported Eren's decision.

[Kraco]

Rimuru wants peace and a good cooexistence with others ... and you think killing 100k unassuming soldiers without mercy will help his cause? Speaking under real world-assumptions, ofc, because this anime has long decided that Rimuru is a good guy no matter what crimes he commits.

Yes, it will. Did you watch this episode fully or did you decide to stop watching the show before finishing it? Under Rimuru's orders, Diablo is building the foundation for that peaceful coexistence. Those 100k soldiers dying will pretty much ensure Falmuth has no choice but to live peacefully. Nobody knows what's going to happen 50 years later, but that's hardly a priority right here and now.

[MFauli]

This is the part I don't get.

Why is your position on this exact same issue the 180° opposite when it comes to Eren. Who commits a vastly greater act of mass murder, for an even less justified reason. Eren also possessed all of the power and everyone he killed COULD have changed. And yet you fully supported Eren's decision.

Wat

Paradies were the absolute underdogs, no power at all. Until Eren revered things by sacrificing everything and counterattacking. And in his case, he KNEW that the outside world would attack again if he didn't eradicate them; the post-credit scene proved him correct, btw..

Meanwhile Rimuru is the one in power here, at any given point. Worst case, he puts up a defense wall and keeps negotiating until humans grow tired. And he could have killed just individual, strong and evil soldiers to show the others how powerless they are against him. You think the 100k soldiers would have keep attacking the monster village had Rimuru given them a chance to realize how weak they are?

Rimuru is a tyran, Eren was a savior.

[shinta|hikari]

Racist murderers' lives are not worth the same as innocents.

You see, I agree with you. I am saying most human moral paradigms (and there are many) do not. Lives are lives.

@Kraco - You keep bringing up war pragmatism when I am stating that war has no morality, so you are only reinforcing my point. The moral thing to do is not always (in fact is probably rarely) the one that yields the best outcome. It's like how superheroes don't just murder villains, even when doing so will yield the fewest victims.

[DarthEnderX]

Paradies were the absolute underdogs, no power at all.

WTF ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?! Eren has ALL THE FUCKING POWER! If he's the the underdog how the fuck could he wipe out 80% of the planet?!

Eren IS Rimuru. If Rimuru were Eren, he'd have only used his power to wipe out the Marleyan army. Not genicide 4/5ths of the planet! He did the exact same thing Rimuru did, TIMES A THOUSAND!

Worst case, he puts up a defense wall and keeps negotiating until humans grow tired.

That is LITERALLY what the Eldian King did! And Eren UNDID that so he could go commit genocide!

[David75]

Rimuru needed to kill a lot to evolve to a demon lord too. It was also a selfish and evil decision.
And yes, war is totally unfair, evil. And things like Genova rules feel very strange as you create rules as to how you can kill people in a world where violence is a crime.

[MFauli]

WTF ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?! Eren has ALL THE FUCKING POWER! If he's the the underdog how the fuck could he wipe out 80% of the planet?!

Eren IS Rimuru. If Rimuru were Eren, he'd have only used his power to wipe out the Marleyan army. Not genicide 4/5ths of the planet! He did the exact same thing Rimuru did, TIMES A THOUSAND!

That is LITERALLY what the Eldian King did! And Eren UNDID that so he could go commit genocide!

You cannot be this dense, Darth!

Paradies had ZERO power UNTIL THE VERY MOMENT EREN MIRACULOUSLY ATTAINED POWER.

"Rimuru would only wipe out the Marleyan army" - yes, because Rimuru is powerful. Eren is not. If Eren stopped at only the Marleyan army, the rest of the world would still come for Paradies, except now Eren wouldn't exist anymore, because Eren would be dead, unlike Rimuru who, for all we know, is an immortal entity and can keep watch over his village forever.

And Eren didn't undo anything to commit genocide, he wanted to free his people of eternal oppression and threat. Again, something that Rimuru never was in danger of considering of how powerful he is.

[DarthEnderX]

Rimuru needed to kill a lot to evolve to a demon lord too. It was also a selfish and evil decision.

Except Rimuru didn't actually care about being a demon lord.
He only did it because becoming one would allow him to resurrect his murdered people. Which is not a selfish and evil decision.

Paradies had ZERO power UNTIL THE VERY MOMENT EREN MIRACULOUSLY ATTAINED POWER.

And how is that any different from, say, the goblins, before Rimuru miraculously showed up?

except now Eren wouldn't exist anymore, because Eren would be dead

Except Eren could pass his power on to anyone he wants before he dies.

And Eren didn't undo anything to commit genocide, he wanted to free his people of eternal oppression and threat.

Then Rimuru didn't do anything to kill that army. He wanted to free his people of threat and revive those already murdered.

[DarthEnderX]

50

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This whole episode was just various people going "We'll do nothing and see what happens for now..."

[Kraco]

Indeed. This was just basic character building for a bunch of extras. Though we had already seen the most important of them. At least I like Luminous Valentine's character, so I don't mind her getting more screen time.

I suppose the only really important part of this was Hinata suspecting someone's trying to use her for their own ends, and then we get the Falmuth king's younger brother, named to be the new king, smiling wickedly, suggesting he also has his own plans. Kagurazaka Yuuki is also scheming, but that's nothing new since he's always cooking one plot or another.

[Buffalobiian]

I too will wait a week and see what happens.